{"id":135,"date":"2023-02-27T20:24:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T20:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/books.gw-project.org\/the-edwards-aquifer\/?post_type=part&p=135"},"modified":"2023-03-01T15:48:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T15:48:49","slug":"legal-and-administrative-systems","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/books.gw-project.org\/the-edwards-aquifer\/part\/legal-and-administrative-systems\/","title":{"raw":"6 Legal and Administrative Systems","rendered":"6 Legal and Administrative Systems"},"content":{"raw":"
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Hardberger (2019) summarizes the development of Texas water law as it pertains to groundwater in general, and to the Edwards Aquifer in particular. In Texas, groundwater and surface water are managed by separate doctrines. Surface water is state-owned and governed by the doctrine of prior appropriation (i.e., water rights are determined by priority of beneficial use). Groundwater law has been evolving and is based on a series of court cases and legislative actions. In Texas, like soil, groundwater is the property of the surface landowner. The 1904 East case confirmed the absolute ownership of water or the \u201crule of capture\u201d for beneficial use, limited only by the exception that malicious use and, later, subsidence of adjoining properties, were not permitted. The Texas Supreme Court has indicated that rule-of-capture might not be an appropriate doctrine but left the doctrine in place. Since the 1990s, there have been three major changes:<\/p>\r\n\r\n